While the main Windows 8 launch event isn’t until October 25th, Microsoft has now officially celebrated the arrival of Windows 8 and the Surface in China. A press release from Microsoft says that Steven Sinofsky attended the event in Shanghai earlier today and he and other Microsoft team members showed off various Windows 8 devices at the event.

Keep in mind that China still isn’t getting devices in stores until Friday, like the rest of the world. This event was about drawing more attention and excitement to the Chinese market. If Microsoft can market their tablet efforts in China, this could potentially be a massive market for Microsoft.

At the press event, Microsoft made it clear that China could be the second biggest market for apps made for the new OS as well. They also indicated that people attending the event were genuinely excited to mess around with the devices and apps:

There has been a lot of hype for tablets in China, especially the iPad. In China, there is also quite a bit of Windows pirating, so it will be interesting to see how the Chinese consumers react to Windows tablet and whether or not Microsoft can convince them to ditch the iPad in favor of Windows RT and 8.

In order to bring the Microsoft Surface to the Chinese market, Microsoft is doing things a bit differently in that market. Microsoft has decided to bring the Surface to China through a 3rd party. Major retailer Suning will sell the tablet in 500 of its Chinese and Hong Kong stores.

The tablet will also be available through the Suning website. Regardless of what happens in China, it is good to see that Microsoft is positioning its tablet and Windows 8 efforts globally and utilizing existing store infrastructures in markets where selling it through their own retail channel doesn’t make as much sense.